So Much More
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: All his life he's been nothing but a puppet, but she proved to him that he was not. She changed herself for him, sacrificed the life she would have had. And now they are eternally bound together by choice. They are both So Much More than what others think


**FINALLY!! Yay more Vampire Knight! But this is my first ever SenRima fic that I've been dying to write for many months now. I absolutely LOVE Shiki and Rima. Probably my fav VK pairing! I just had some free time one night and here it is!! I tried to keep them as OC as possible. Please enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, Matsuri Hino-san does.**

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So Much More

The night sky was nothing more than its usual vast ocean of black tonight, white stars dappled randomly throughout the perpetual darkness.

They were bright and sparkling, as they always were, but when one gazes at the stars with the keen, flawless vision of a vampire, one can see that they are actually light blue and outlined in violet.

Even though they were blazing and scorching with fires that could kill even the immortal, one could not help but think that they were cold and lonely like snowflakes, since no two were identical in either case.

Classes for Cross Academy's Moon Dorms had recently ended and the outdoor shadows were brought to life as the gorgeous, perfect forms of the students passed through them and disappeared in a flash. Some glided through the night like camouflaged black panthers, while others sauntered at slower paces.

There were still roughly 5 hours remaining until the slightest crack of dawn light shown through the trees since it was nearing early Spring. If they honestly desired to do so, some of the Night Class members would attempt to stay awake until the sun rose, but usually could not handle the brightness for too long and would either retreat to a darkened corner of their dorm room or give in to sleep.

Rima Toya, however, had no intentions of returning to her dorm for at least 3 hours. She gazed up at the sky, wondering how humans could ever possibly think that it looked more beautiful during the daytime hours.

Nonsense.

Humans were nothing more than foolish, fragile creatures that were amusing for her kind to mess with.

As she gazed up at the moon, she was almost too distracted to hear the light footsteps approaching from behind her.

Almost.

She turned her head just as the tall, faultless figure of Shiki Senri appeared from the shadows beside her. His rusty-chestnut hair complemented his white uniform quite nicely but his silver-azure eyes practically glowed and shimmered in the darkness like a crystal-clear pond. His eyes met her misty, cerulean ones for a brief moment, before she looked away, affixing them once again on the moon, sliced into the slender shape of a cat's claw.

The late night wind blew past them and for a moment there was nothing but silence.

"Rima." Shiki spoke her name as only he could, somehow slipping from one syllable to the other and making her name one sound instead of the usual two. To her ears, it was melodic, but she did not let it show.

However, there were unspoken things between them that did not need to be spoken, but Shiki knew that she was pleased whenever he said her name like that. He could sense her pulse skip the slightest bit, so slightly that no other vampire could detect it and only he could because they were so close. "Let's get inside." He suggested in his low, spellbinding voice.

Rima completely ignored him, pretending she had heard nothing at all. Shiki was not annoyed by her elusiveness; in fact he admired her for it. She never openly expressed her emotions around anyone except him, but only rarely did she ever even do _that_. He allowed the slightest smile to curve his lips, somehow knowing that she would react to his proposal this way and having absolutely no problem with it.

"Neh, Shiki." The orange-haired vampire spoke in the voice that was like snow at midnight under a crimson moon.

To all others, Rima's voice was noncommittal and uninterested, but to Shiki, it was laced with all the smallest hints of feeling that he comprehended as clearly as anyone's voice. But he usually drown out all other's voices to just focus on hers and all her graceful movements and silent words.

"What is it?" He asked.

Their conversation was slow, as they normally were, but they were completely comfortable, and it had the usual atmosphere of leisurely patience. To any other, it would seem as though their conversations were awkward, with unrushed urgency mingled into every second.

But ever since Rima had come to know Shiki, and how he had been forced to live as a puppet for the majority of his life, she realized that it would be too difficult for him to change very quickly.

So she decided to change herself at a young age. She made herself become more like a puppet, like him, to let him know that he was not alone, and that there was someone out there who would sacrifice themself for him and only him in that way.

And she wanted to let him know that he had found her.

Every night, he broke more and more free from his strings, breaking the smallest possible fraction each second, slowly pulling away. Rima had changed herself in order to help and change him and each night, she helped him pull free of the strands his parents had tangled him in long ago.

But now that Rima had trained herself to grow up this way, she knew she could never live any other way.

They both wanted to go on living exactly like they were now, and not change the slightest thing about it nor hinder their pace.

Only about a moment had passed before Rima replied slowly.

"Teach me that technique you use." It would seem like a rude, blatant, order to anyone else, but to Shiki, it was an innocent request of curiosity from the girl he loved, and this she knew.

"Sure." Shiki knew exactly what she meant.

He stepped up next to her and raised his hand to his lips. He slashed his finger across his fangs with such a swift movement that it looked like it was exceedingly painful to, of course, anyone but Rima. She knew that quick, thorn-sharp prick was nothing more than a flick to him.

The scarlet blood began to flow slowly from his skin. Then, as he had done many times after years of concentrated practice, he manipulated his blood until it formed into a long whip that swayed and glided like a great, red serpent of the night.

Rima gave a slight nod, her cerulean eyes having captured every slight detail of his technique, gluing it into her mind. She raised her hand to her lips as well, protruding her fangs ever so slightly.

But before she could slash her flawless, model skin, Shiki lashed out and grasped her wrist. Her only visible reaction was the slight raising of her eyebrows, but Shiki could distinguish the way she reacted internally. He could feel how her pulse skipped and then sped up in her veins. He lifted her hand to his mouth and Rima watched him with silent, ghostly, elegant orbs of blue mist.

He parted his jaws, a wash of moonlight catching on his fangs and setting them ablaze with white fire. He hesitated, glancing up at her, silently asking permission to proceed. Rima gave a small nod and Shiki continued.

Similarly as what he had done to himself, he slashed a small hole in her skin, no bigger than as though a cat had scratched the tip of her finger. Then, his silver eyes traveled down to her wrist and Rima caught a glimpse of crimson stain the cloudy color.

"Fine." Rima agreed quietly.

Flashing her a tiny smile for thanks, Shiki rolled up her sleeve and sank his fangs into her wrist. He felt the warm blood spill out into his mouth as he punctured the veins. The flow was corrupted for a split second before it began to rush freely into his mouth. Rima's pulse quickened uncontrollably and she flinched ever so slightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her eyes, urging her lifeblood to go wherever Shiki pleased it to. She felt the usual shiver of foreboding pleasure go up her spine and shake her small body to the core.

She let Shiki have his fill for about a good, long moment. Then, the rusty-haired vampire began to sense her heart rate drop slightly. He pulled away immediately, not wanting to overindulge himself and wind up hurting her. He covered the puncture marks on her wrist with his other hand as he continued to hold hers.

"Rima…" There was the tiniest bit of fear in his voice, for he was frightened that he had drunk too much. She knew what he was trying to ask.

"I'm alright. Just a little dizzy." She admitted as her head pounded with the ferocity of thunder.

It took a moment for her heartbeat to return to normal, and she knew that Shiki was staring at the entire time, absolutely silent, listening to it. Worry outlined his eyes when she finally looked up, but a simple nod of her head, indicating that she was all right reassured him.

Shiki was no fool, and he knew, even though she was so small, that she was no frail, feeble human.

He let go of her hand and took a slight step away from her, maneuvering his blood back into its whip shape. He commanded it to swish through the air and snap back in quick, brief movements. Rima watched him intently. Then, Shiki turned his stunning gaze to her, a small grin on his face, urging her to try now.

Slowly, Rima attempted to copy exactly what he had done. She tried to let the blood slither out of her finger as he had, but instead it came pouring out. The sight of so much blood coming from her own body startled her but the panic only showed in her eyes and the sound of her increased heartbeat. Her movements were perfectly controlled and unruffled like the flight of some graceful bird who had just taken off, but after being injured.

Shiki's eyes widened at the sight of her blood as well, but remained calm. In all his years living as a puppet, Shiki never really learned _how_ to panic or what it was. But he knew that if he let himself show any alarm at all, it would float into the atmosphere and Rima would sense it, which might cause her to panic, possibly leading to confusion and much blood loss.

But with his calm reassurance settled at her side, Rima took a deep, silent breath and forced her heart to beat steadily. Then, gradually, she pulled her blood back into her skin, little by little, until it was just a small, beaded drop. She let out a quiet breath that Shiki understood as a sigh.

"Why is it so easy for you?" She asked, and he heard the hint of a pout in her voice.

"Its in my blood." He replied honestly.

"Very funny." She let him see her small smile.

Shiki demonstrated the motion of his finger and hand as he controlled the speed of the whip and how his movements corresponded to the movements of his weapon. Rima made fast progress from there on out, for, she was no fool either.

When she made an error, she took something out of it, learned from it, and made sure she never allowed it to happen again. When she made an error, she corrected it before it could become a mistake and than an imprudent habit.

After about four more trials, Rima had mastered the technique to the best of her abilities and beyond.

"You're better than me." Shiki blinked thoughtfully at her.

"Let's not get over our heads." She responded. To Shiki, it was the one of the sweetest complements he had ever heard from anyone, since only she could complement him and make it mean something.

The sky was just barely becoming a light, milky gray with the first signs of dawn. The two vampires recalled their individual whips and shared a glance, misty, cloudy gazes locking and becoming one for a second in time.

"Tomorrow?" Rima asked.

"Sure." He replied.

Nothing more needed to be said.

In those two words, one from each vampire, they had promised to meet each other back in the same spot again the next night and practice together again. Then, Rima reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out two sticks of chocolate pocky.

"Who's?" Shiki asked her, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Aido." Rima replied, snapping off a fourth of her candy with her sharp fangs. The pocky was gone in a few seconds, but Rima made him a silent vow to steal some more from their blonde, idiotic friend tonight as well.

Shiki began to head off to his dorm, knowing that Rima would follow him as far as she was allowed until they had to split off to separate sections of the campus.

"Shiki." Rima called after him softly. He stopped and turned back to her. "I'm still dizzy." She murmured.

Shiki smiled at her and with almost breakneck speed, swept her off of her feet and into a bridal style. The swiftness of his actions sent her heart back into a small frenzy for a quick second, but although slightly embarrassed, she allowed it. Shiki loved the sound of her heart like this, when it was beating frantically in her chest like a caged bird. Secretly, he thought it was adorable, considering the strong, indifferent pretense she put in front of herself.

He just loved her so much.

He set a slow pace toward the area where the buildings split apart and figured he could carry her that far.

He grinned down at her, and they captivated one another with their almost identical gazes.

Finally, Shiki managed to make her give him that small smile in return.

"Love you too." She murmured.

Just the simplicity of those three words coming from her was enough to let him know he was not alone, and that he was _not _a puppet.

And he knew she was no ordinary vampire either; she could sacrifice herself for him as naturally as breathing.

They were both just So Much More.

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**A/N: Fin! Sorry if it was not so good, it was my first SenRima attempt. I will definately be writing more for this couple in the future so give me ADVICE (not flames) on how to improve if you please. SHIKIXRIMA4EVER!!**

**Please review!!**


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